French deputies, their assistants and the uses of staff appropriations: A sociology of political work

Abstract

This analysis focuses on how members of Parliament in France organize their staff. The way deputies distribute the tasks among their assistants suggests that the organization and division of labor should be understood mainly in relation to the pressures generated by MPs in their home district, since a seat in the National Assembly very much depends on providing services to constituents. The staff under the use of the single member district system is so involved in solving voters' "personal" problems of various sorts that assistants are forced to devise strategies for regulating demand and providing often token responses. Developing relations with constituents even affects their legislative duties. For deputies, it is a way of reducing the "occupational" risks inherent in elective office. They must adapt to a voting system that incites them to adopt a conception of representation closer to that of spokesperson for the residents of their district than of representative of the Nation.

Offers of assistance in politician–constituent interaction

“…Other studies examine whether and how constituencies influence politicians' actions at Parliament (Miller & Stokes, 1963;Ågren et al, 2006;Blidook & Kerby, 2011). A handful of studies examine the composition of casework (Rawlings, 1990;Macleod, 2006;Le Lidec, 2009). But none examine what happens when an MP and a constituent sit down to talk during constituency surgeries.…”

“…Other studies examine whether and how constituencies influence politicians' actions at Parliament (Ågren et al, 2006;Blidook and Kerby, 2011;Miller and Stokes, 1963). A handful of studies examine the composition of casework (Le Lidec, 2009;MacLeod, 2006;Rawlings, 1990), but none examine what happens when an MP and a constituent sit down to talk during constituency surgeries. This is surprising, given that researchers and politicians alike are interested in engaging voters in politics (see i.e.…”